Some notes to clear up some confusion:

Gulag - A Soviet government agency that operates a series of prisons/labour camps with harsh conditions, with said prisons being named gulags themselves.

Kommissar - An NKVD political officer.

NKVD - The Soviet Union's secret police and intelligence agency.

Shtrafbat - Penal battalion.

Shtrafnik - Someone serving in a penal battalion; Shtrafniki is the plural form.

ROGUE POV

Another day in the Eastern Front, and it's always the same old damn routine; lead your men to the meat grinder. I have done my best to prevent these men from falling into certain death, but most of them still didn't make it. We were once 100 men strong, now, we are, like, 8? I'm still surprised as to why our little shtrafbat hasn't been merged into the bigger ones, or the units lacking some cannon fodder. They've relocated the other officers, so it's just me and the remaining shtrafniki.

My name is Rogue Cheney, or Kommissar Cheney to the shtrafniki. As I've said, I'm a kommissar that's been assigned to this penal battalion named "Fairy Tail". I usually come off as "cold" and "heartless", but these men know otherwise. You must be wondering "Why are you trying to save the shtrafniki? They're criminals!". Well, for one, these men aren't real criminals. The NKVD arrests anyone who goes against the Soviet Union's interests, then sending them to either the gulag, or a shtrafbat.

Technically, men that aren't real criminals get treated like criminals, men like;

Natsu Dragneel, who assaulted an NKVD official that was taking his unwilling father away for conscription;

Gray Fullbuster, a regular citizen arrested due to "indecent exposure", though the guy didn't mean it. Just some weird habit or so he says;

Laxus Dreyar, I don't know much about him apart from his grandfather, who happens to be a commanding officer for a Guards unit;

Freed Justine, who wrote something anti-Soviet, and was arrested then instantly turned into a shtrafnik shortly afterwards;

Gajeel Redfox, a Guard's Rifle machine-gunner who simply suggested an alternative plan-of-attack to his commanding officer, with said officer reassigning him here for "insubordination";

Leo Leonovski, a Shock Troops infantryman/playboy who's notorious for popping up out of nowhere, was then reassigned here out of nowhere;

Alzack Connell, who was one of the Union's finest snipers, until he refused to execute a group of surrendering Germans, resulting in his rank

being removed then getting assigned here, and said Germans were executed by molotovs anyway.

Elfman Strauss, who was set-up in his little sister's murder, Lisanna Strauss. And just because they were part German.

They didn't do anything wrong, really. It's the Soviets, notably Stalin, that's sick in the head.

"Yo, Kommissar Cheney!" a voice hollered at me, followed by a light nudge on my shoulder.

I looked to the source of the voice that snapped me out of my thoughts, which happened to be a certain pink-haired shtrafnik who was looking at me with his trademark toothy grin. I wonder, how could a shtrafnik stay so happy, knowing that he might face certain death soon? Maybe he really is crazy.

"Yes, Natsu?" I asked the pink-haired shtrafnik, who was still beaming at me.

"Just gonna ask where we're going." he replied as he looked onto the horizon ahead of us.

We walked along the ruined outskirts of the town of Seelow. The Red Army were able to break through the Wehrmact's defensive line here, and captured

the town in the process. Now, the Germans are in a state of retreat, and we were instructed to hunt down any retreating Germans we'd come across.

"We have orders to eliminate any German resistance along our path. We're clearing the way for the T-34s." I replied to the pinkette nonchalantly.

The shtrafnik looked satisfied with my answer, and didn't press me for any more questions. I wasn't really sure on what to do along the way. All we have is a piece of intel saying that there's a squad of Germans holed up in a farmstead not far from here. We walked and walked along the green, grassy fields that's occassionaly littered with mostly wrecked Panzer IVs. Everyone looked rather tranquil today, perhaps it's because I was able to lead them all the way from Stalingrad through Seelow? Or maybe it's just Elfman's "morale-boosting" "manly" speeches, I dunno.

"There's a group of Germans not far from here, but it's a long walk." I announced to the shtrafniki, who acknowledged it with short nods. Except for Gray, that is.

"Walk, walk, walk. All we do is walk." the raven-haired shtrafnik complained, flailing his hands and his Mosin-Nagant rifle up in the air in a fit of irritance.

True, we didn't exactly have proper transport, like a ZiS-6 truck, but hey, we're still alive, and that's what matters, I guess. I could really use some transport, though.

My feet are killing me. I Wish I could just travel along that long line of shadow that seems to stretch all the way to Berlin.. I really do share the guy's sentiment.

"Relax, Gray. Once this war is over, I'm gonna personally make sure you guys are released." I said to Gray, who then looked even more irritated as I said that.

"How, exactly? The NKVD are expecting us to 'die for the motherland' as cannon fodder, which might mean they'll just kill us as soon as the Germans surrender." he half-heartedly said, starting to look depressed.

"I know. I have a contact outside The Union. They'll help us." I assured the ravenette, which seemed to uplift his spirits.

"Conspiring against the motherland, eh? And that's why you're the best, Kommissar Cheney!" he said to me, his face now wearing a cocky-looking grin.

The rest of the shtrafniki shared his opinion, either giving me full-hearted smiles, such as Natsu; or a salute, like Laxus. As we continued trekking, the shtrafniki stayed on the lookout for enemy troop movements, though Laxus is constantly chatting with Freed.

"Those Iron-Cross bastards better surrender soon. I am getting tired of this shit." I heard the tall blond quietly exclaim, kicking a small rock away from his path due to boredom.

"A half-track would be nice. Or a 'half-wheels', according to that Evgeniy guy back in Stalingrad." the green-haired shtrafnik stated with a chuckle, with the rest following suit.

Some time later...

Nights sure are peaceful, there's just something about the shadows and darkness that seems to comfort me. The feeling of being alone? Maybe. Although it can be a bit unsettling when I'm really alone.

We made camp beside a small lake in an out-of-way part of a forest, so that no one, Soviet or Wehrmact, will interfere with us. The forest is also rather thick, thanks to the numerous evergreens here, so we're good.

Natsu set up a campfire rather interestingly, by setting a pile of dried twigs and leaves on fire with his flamethrower, resulting in an outburst from the exhibitionist shtrafnik. Jeez, when did his shirt come off?

"You flame-headed idiot! We could be found! Or burned by an inferno you started with that damned thing!" Gray yelled at Natsu, knocking the ROKS-3 flamethrower away from the pinkette. Good thing it was already shut off.

The pinkette looked rather pissed-off with his flamethrower being knocked away from him. If it's not the NKVD or the Germans that'll kill them, they'll kill each other one of these days.

"Then you do it next time! You're so fucking hot you could set stuff on fire!" Natsu shouted, then his cheeks turned so red.

BEAT

"What?" Gray said confusedly. He was expecting a verbal slur or insult, but not that kind of answer. The pink-haired shtrafnik only realized what he said a few seconds later, how amusing.

"Eh? Oh, nothing. Nothing.." Natsu nervously replied to Gray as he quickly made his way back to his tent, confusing the latter even more.

As Natsu went inside his tent, I can tell that Gray is still really confused; he was even staring at Natsu's tent as if it would offer him the answers to the universe. He eventually went to his own tent, dissatisfied.

A few moments later, a figure sat beside me. It was Leo, who offered me a bottle of vodka, which I took and drank from.

"That looked like development, don'tcha think, kommissar?" the eye-glasses shtrafnik asked me. I spat my vodka out in response to that.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed, utterly surprised and wide-eyeing him. The shtrafnik just laughed.

"Oh, you know, those two..." he added, pointing to Gray and Natsu's tents.

"What do you mean?" I asked Leo, still unsure of what he's talking about.

"Well, kommissar, judging from his reaction earlier, don't you think that Natsu might be..." his voice sounded rather tease-y.

"...gay for Gray?" his voice then shifted into deadpan serious. Leo looked at me rather questioningly, is this matter that serious for him? I scoffed at the look he was giving me.

"Each to their own. It's not my business." I said to him as I took another sip of vodka. He seemed to lighten up after that. I guess this topic is kind of interesting.

"So, you're not gonna have Natsu shot then?" Leo asked me, though his voice sounded very soft. I know better than to shoot someone for being who they are, unless they're some absolute douchebag, that is.

"What do you think?" I said as I tapped my Tokarev pistol that's still in my holster, earning a satisfied sigh from Leo.

"Of all the NKVD officers, we're grateful to have you, Kommissar Cheney." he said, raising his canteen as a toast of sorts. I reciprocated with a nod.

I then pondered on how my life could've been if I hadn't become the squad's kommissar. The shtrafniki would be dead by now, probably. I guess it's kind of a good thing; being kommissar. If it's not me, It'll probably be Kommissar Jiemma, and that guy's a monster, killing his own shtrafniki if the Germans didn't. The bastard.

"How about you, kommissar? Any plans to settle down after the war?" Leo asked, interrupting my train of thought.

"I.. I don't know either. I don't think I'll find someone for me, anyway." I sighed defeatedly, laying myself down on a patch of grass. I then shifted to face Leo.

"I mean, when you hear the word 'kommissar', what comes to your mind?" I asked Leo.

"A cruel, oppressive officer of The Union." he replied flatly. That's the exact answer I was expecting.

"Exactly, no one wants that." I replied nonchalantly. "I'm doomed to be alone." I sighed sadly, looking at the sky that's seemingly littered with numerous bright stars and the moon.

And it's very quiet, too. No IL-2s today, I guess.

"Hey, don't say that, kommissar. There's someone for everyone. And besides, you're not the usual kommissar. You're the opposite, actually." Leo told me as he tapped my shoulder. I could see that he's concerned.

"Thanks, Leo." I said to Leo. He went to his tent afterwards, leaving behind another bottle of vodka for me.

I went to my tent just after I downed that last bottle, wanting a good night's rest. Besides, tomorrow is gonna be hectic; the farmstead is not far from this spot.

"Kommissar?" someone asked, then lightly poking me. What the hell?! I want my sleep damn it! I then rolled over to see Natsu on the entrance of my tent, looking very disheveled. Has he been up all this time?

"Sorry, kommissar. But can I discuss something with you?" he asked sheepishly, scratching his head in the process. Reluctantly, I got up from my sleeping bag, and Natsu went out of the tent as I followed suit.

"What?" I grumpily and sleepily asked the disheveled pinkette.

"Not here, kommissar. How about beside the lake?" he asked, muffling his voice as to not wake the others. I gave a sleepy nod, then he led me to a spot beside the lake, along some rocks. He then started to speak as we sat down on the rocks.

"About earlier, it's not what you think, kommissar. It's just-"

"I get it." I bluntly cut him off, making him look at me in horror. He thinks I'm gonna shoot him now, wow.

"W-what?!" he stuttered. He even started getting cold sweat, jeez.

"Relax, I'm not gonna have you shot. I get it, you like Gray, although it's beyond me as to why you like him." I said to Natsu, his cheeks turning into a very reddish shade, though he seemed to calm down a bit as I told him I won't be shooting him.

"I-"

"I'm not gonna shoot you, relax." I repeated myself to ease the pinkette. I then placed my hands on his shoulders, trying to put him at ease.

"The only ones I'll be shooting are the ones that won't accept people for who they are." I assured the pinkette, who calmed down with my words.

"Thanks, kommissar. I really appreciate it. But can we keep this between us for now?" he asked sheepily. I nodded in response.

"Was that all, Natsu? Because I need my damn sleep." I grumpily said to the shtrafnik.

"Oh, there's also this.." the pinkette said as he brought out a map.

Natsu was also industrious enough to scout ahead on the farmstead, although I had to reprimand him for doing such a risky action on his own. His reconnaissance of the farmstead suggests that there's only a handful of Germans there, around 2-3. The intel given to me was way too exaggerated. There's also a small dirt road that leads to the main road. We could take them by surprise using the forest to our advantage, hopefully avoiding any potential bloodshed, and we also have to conserve ammunition more or less.

"So, about two grenadiers, an officer, and a half-track? How could you be so sure?" I asked the pink-haired shtrafniki. He nodded.

"I'm sure one of them is an officer, kommissar. I can tell by the hat and uniform he's wearing." he replied, smiling.

"And you're sure the two are just regular grenadiers, and not Fallschirmjagers or something?"

"Yep! One-hundred percent!" he cheerfully replied, flashing his trademark grin at me. What a cheery fellow.

"You better be, or I'm gonna have to seriously punish you.. by telling Gray." I teased. He started to sweat as I said that, kinda fun teasing the guy.

Around dawn is when I woke up, with the horizon being a mix of orange and blue; what a sight. I then went on with my duty of waking up the shtrafniki, who were still sound asleep.

Except Gray, that is. I approached the ravenette with the intention of getting an explanation for his unusual behaviour right now; it's really not like him to wake up early.

"You're up early." I said to the ravenette, patting his shoulder.

"Oh, kommissar. Good morning." he replied, lazily looking in my direction.

"What has you up so early? Usually you're the last person to wake up." I asked him.

"It's just.. something has me thinking." he replied, burying his hands in his pant's pockets. Where'd his shirt go?

"What is it?" I asked the ravenette, raising an eyebrow. He twitched at my look.

"It's nothing major, really." he said, looking away.

"Is it Natsu?" I asked. He nodded in confirmation.

"I'm just really confused, what the heck did he mean with what he said last night?" he said in a frustrated tone.

"It could be an inside joke or something?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No, and I'm sure of it. Something's up with Natsu, and I want to find out what it is." he replied with a clenched fist and a hopeful look on his face.

"Good luck with that, but focus on the task at hand first." I said to Gray, who gave me a nod as he picked up his Mosin rifle. The rest of the shtrafniki have started packing up, preparing for the short trek to the farmstead. I then called for their attention.

"Attention, everyone. Here's the plan..."

I outlined the plan to them; infiltrate by dusk, knock the guards out, and I'll personally take care of the officer, perhaps pressure him for some information. There's two golden rules for this op that I've stated to the shtrafniki:

"No 'fireworks', got it? I'm looking at you Natsu." I said as I glared at Natsu.

"Alright, kommissar. Jeez. Ya really have to point me out?" he said as he flailed his arms in front of him, calling for a "truce".

"After Stalingrad, after Kiev, and after Seelow. Yes, I DO have to point you out." I stated. He gave out an exasperated sigh.

Then I continued telling them the battle plan..

"...and just knock the guards out, don't kill them. Leave the officer to me. Elfman, you'll go with me to the second floor once the perimeter is secure."

"MANLY!" the big man exclaimed. Now everyone is clear with the plan, I hope..

"Alright, is everyone clear with our plan of attack?" I asked the shtrafniki.

"Yes, kommissar!" they exclaimed in reply.

About ten minutes later, we're back to walking again, although everyone is expecting some action this time. We trekked through the forest as a means of remaining undetected by the Germans; they might have forward sentries or something. After walking through light mud, bushes, and some really noisy twigs, we finally have the farmstead in our sights.

"That's the place? Looks fucked up.." Gajeel said as he observed our objective; it truly is a mess, the barn's a burnt heap with a burnt Tiger Tank inside it, and the farmhouse itself looks like it's seen better days.

"Kommissar, think we can jack that half-track?" Gajeel asked me, pointing to a grey German Sdkfz.251 that's parked right in front of the farmhouse. He sounded rather giddy with the idea.

"We'll see.." I replied to him, making his eyes glint. Heh.

We still had to wait for dusk, and that meant lying in wait amongst camouflage piles of dry leaves and twigs. Damn itchy shits.

About two hours of four of our waiting, I heard Gray chatting with someone, probably Natsu. Now is not the right time to be discussing THAT!

"What you said last night.. what did it mean?"

"It's just a joke, alright?"

"It didn't sound like a joke. And people's faces don't turn red when they tell jokes."

"It's a different kind of joke, okay? Let it go."

"Natsu. Tell me, I can understand. I'm serious."

"..Gray.. I.."

Even though this is getting rather amusing, I had to shut them up somehow. They're kinda jeopardizing our cover. Have they ever heard of stealth? Those idiots..

I tapped the person's shoulder beside me, who happened to be Laxus.

"Laxus, can you tell those two idiots to shut up?" I told the tall blond, who immediately carried out the order.

"Hey, Kommissar Cheney is telling you two idiots to shut up." he said as he faced the two idiots. I looked at the two from a distance.

"Sorry.." they apologized in unison. How cute.

"You're 'lovers quarrel' can wait until later." Leo cheekily stated to the two from right beside Laxus, who elbowed him, earning a quick yelp from 'glasses'.

I observed the farmhouse through my binoculars, and it's still the same two grenadiers discussing something over some liquor. The half-track appears to be in good shape, I guess we really could jack it as our transport to Berlin. That Tiger is beyond repair, the smoke coming out of it's hatch and cannon says so. I can't find this officer, though.

Natsu said there's an officer somewhere, but I can't seem to find the guy. Probably inside the farmhouse. Guess we'll just have to wait a bit longer.

The sun has just finished setting, and that's our cue to initiate our plan.

"Remember the plan, any deviation from it will definitely result in absolute punishment." I stated to the shtrafniki, putting on my serious face. Time to get up from these twigs..

"Yes, kommissar!" they quietly exclaimed, saluting in the process as they got up from their cover.

"Now go!" I commanded them, pointing to the farmstead.

Under the cover of slight but dark shadows, we quietly slivered out of our hiding places in the forest, except for Alzack, I made him stay in his vantage point in case something happens.

Team 1, consisting of Natsu, Gray, Leo, and Gajeel rushed to their position west of the farmhouse, behind the burnt-out barn. They're tasked with knocking out the two guards, and securing the frontal perimeter. I had to tell Natsu to turn off his damn flamethrower.

Team 2, consisting of me, Freed, Laxus, and Elfman quietly made our way right behind the farmhouse, tasked with infiltrating the farmhouse itself. The other three are to set up firing positions inside it just in case, and I'm to go for the officer, who's probably on the second floor.

Team 1 made their move, with Natsu simply hitting a grenadier on the head with his Mosin rifle's butt, with Gray following suit with the other grenadier. Gajeel then ran to a nearby sandbag wall that's facing the road, setting up his scavenged MG-42 as a firing position. Leo went to inspect the half-track.

Natsu gave us the all-clear signal. Laxus then slowly opened the back door of the farmhouse, revealing no-one in sight, and a pile of discarded beer bottles on the kitchen table, which still strongly reeked of beer.

"Damn, that's some strong stuff." the tall blond remarked, picking up a bottle to take a long whiff. Not now!

"Laxus!" Freed chided Laxus, who immediately put the bottle down quietly.

"Right.." he irritatedly muttered, then looking to the window in front of him.

Laxus then went to set-up his DP-28 machinegun on one of the window frames, with Freed taking cover behind another window. He then gave an all-clear signal for Alzack, who came out of the forest afterwards, going to Gajeel's firing position. Now it's my turn.

"Alright, Elfman. With me." I silently told the big man as I made hand signals indicating 'upstairs'.

"I got you covered, kommissar." he silently replied, following me upstairs.

We slowly made our way upstairs, the creaky noises it was giving weren't helping. The second floor was virtually unlit, except for a single room on the end of the little hallway.

We quietly inspected the rooms leading to the lit room, all turning out to be empty of any activity.

I signalled for Elfman to take cover behind the doorframe. As he took cover, the light in the room went out; there is someone there, probably the officer. I slowly approached the door, quietly pushing it open. As I went in the room, I saw a figure that's sitting down on a chair that's facing me, though the figure was looking out of an open window beside him. A small hint of moonlight illuminated the room and the figure; the room appeared to be a little kid's room, but the figure...

The figure's face looked very chiselled, adorned by a small scar on his right eyebrow along with a spiky mess of blond hair and a set of sharp, blue eyes. He even has an earring on his left ear, how cute. However, as I saw his body, I felt my face immediately heat up. He wasn't wearing his top, so I was given a view of his well-built body; from his muscular biceps, his well-defined pectorals, to his very firm abs along with a rather appealing V-line..

Chyort vozmi! What the hell did I just think of?! Think of something else, Rogue! Like pink frogs?! Ehh..

Then I had a feeling that I was being watched, and as I looked to the figure, he was looking at me with those rather alluring blue eyes of his.. ROGUE! GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER! ORDER 227 DOES NOT APPLY HERE! STEP BACK!

Maybe I'm starting to exaggerate a bit.. The figure looked away after a bit, looking back to the window.

"Get it over with.." he said drearily as a tear slid down from his left eye. He sounded like as if he wanted to die already. Why?

"I'm not here to kill you." I said to him as I held my hands up. He still looked indifferent to my gesture, if not a bit disappointed.

"Then that's too bad, guess I'll have to kill you to get your comrades to kill me." then in one swift motion, he attempted to reach for his pistol that's lying on a drawer beside him.

Thanks to my quick reflexes, I managed to headbutt him just before he was able to grab the P38 pistol. He landed with a thud on the wooden floor, followed by the pistol's metallic thud.

I was on top of him now, pointing my Tokarev pistol to his head in an effort to dissuade him from doing anything else. Tears started to form in his eyes shortly afterwards.

"Shoot me! Believe me, you'll be doing me a favor!" he yelled at me as he glared holes into my eyes. I pressed the pistol onto his head, making him shut his eyes.

I can't stand this..

Out of impulse, I hugged him. I HUGGED HIM. I wrapped my arms around him, gently squeezing him in one, tight embrace. His sobs seemed to have subsided due to it. He's so warm..

"What in the name of scheiße are you doing?!" he yelled at me. I responded by hugging him tighter. What's scheiße though?

"I'm hugging you, what else do you think is it?" I replied to the blonde, burying my head on his neck.

"W-what?! Why?" he said, really confused.

"Like I said, I'm not here to kill you.." I said to him, raising my head to his, giving him a concerned look. Such blue eyes..

"..and I'm not like the other kommissars of The Union, trust me." I said as I held his shoulders, making him calm down a bit.

"Let's work something out, alright?" I said to him. He nodded slowly.

After that little scene, I just realized that Elfman was looking at us. Apparently, I forgot that I had him come with me. This is embarrassing...

"Would you like me to go?" the man asked, pointing to the door.

"Yes. The perimeter's secure anyway." I replied, prompting him to get out, closing the door in the process.

I then took my attention back to the officer. His face is all red, and I've just realized why. Our position was like this; He's lying on the floor, and I'm kind of kneeling right above his immediate crotch area. The fact that he's also half-naked made it look really.. erotic. I immediately scrambled away from him, my face all red like his.

"I-I didn't mean that! That just happened!" I exclaimed, stuttering a bit. Then I heard a sound, a happy-sounding one..

It was his laughter, a light-hearted chuckle, but a laugh nonetheless! His laugh is rather cute, it's giving me the stereotypical "butterflies in my stomach". He's so cute and hot...

ROGUE FRIGGING CHENEY! KOMMISSAR OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS! YOU GOTTA CUT THESE THOUGHTS OUT OF YOUR HEAD BEFORE THEY GET IN THE WAY! YOU DON'T LIKE MEN!

...do you?

Maaaybe, guess I'll find out soon enough..

"I wasn't really expecting that, sorry. Guess I shouldn't have done what I did, eh?" the blonde apologized. Why the heck is he apologizing?!

"N-no! The fault's all mine! I'm really sor-" I stuttered again. This is embarassing.. He then went up to me, holding my shoulders.

"Hey, you don't have to be." he assured me as we looked at each other's eyes..

Currently, we're sitting on a bed in the little kid's room, talking about each other, then I just had to ask..

"What made you want to die so bad?" I asked the blonde. His cheery disposition then faded. Crap.

"Lector." he drearily replied. Name rings a bell..

"Lector?" I asked.

"My little brother.."

"..I had him sent to Berlin on the next train out of Seelow.. but I saw the very station he's in getting burned to the ground.."

Maybe he's that red-headed little kid..

"Your little brother.. does he have maroon hair, by any chance?" I asked him. His eyes widened at the question.

"Y-yeah! H-how did you find him?!" he yelled, looking at me wide-eyed.

"I met him. I saw him hiding in one of the abandoned houses." I replied. He started glaring at me afterwards, maybe he thinks I killed him. Then he grabbed my shirt collar.

"What did you do to him?" he angrily spat out.

"I'm hiding him. If I simply left him there, he would've died later. Probably shot by the others." I said. His glare subsiding and also releasing me from his death grip.

"So I took him from the building at night, so that I could sneak him into one of the more secure buildings." I continued. His cheerfulness came back with his smile.

"He.. he's alive?!"

"Yes. And he just wouldn't stop talking about his big brother, who he says 'is the best and strongest of them all'. Very supportive of his big brother, and full of life, too."

"T-that's him! That's Lector!" then he lunged at me by surprise, tightly hugging me.

"THANK YOU!" he exclaimed, lightly crying.

"Hmm?" I asked, I thought he didn't like hugs?

"I'm returning the favor, friend." he responds, looking at me. Oh.

"Who knew you two were related?" I state. He chuckles in response.

"I know, we get that a lot." he adds.

After hugging me for a while, he let's go and we sit on the floor.

"Ya know, this is actually Lector's room." he says. I respond with a surprised look.

"So, this house is actually yours?" I ask. He nods.

"Yep. Lector was only a little baby when I was sent off to military school. And it was only just a day ago that I found Lector in his room, crying, with our parents nowhere to be found.."

"What do you think happened to them?"

"Drafted, or worse.."

"But I did promise them I'll protect Lector. And I will live up to that promise." he proclaims, bringing his clenched right fist to his chest. Wait! What's his name?

"You haven't told me your name yet.." I ask. All this talking and I didn't even get his name yet.

"My bad, it's Sting Eucliffe." he says with a cheery grin.

"I'm Rogue. Rogue Cheney." I say with a light smile.

"By the way, the Red Army knows this spot is inhabited by your squad. We have to go." I said, taking Sting by surprise, who twitched a bit.

"Alright, when?"

"Tomorrow, at first light."

"Can you take me to Lector?" he asks.

"That's the plan. By tomorrow, the rest of the army will be en-route to Berlin. Seelow should be relatively empty by then."

"Sounds like a plan."

"The benefits of being such a small squad is that we're constantly overlooked." I add, making him calm down a bit. He yawned afterwards.

Both of us then took the bed, and slept side by side.

I'm starting to become like one of those idiots, Natsu and Gray. Though it may not be such a bad thing...

Though it would be nice if he wasn't so shifty.

STING POV

My first day of being seperated from the rest of the Wehrmact and I get to meet the Red Army already, awesome!

Ah! I'm Sting Eucliffe, or Hauptmann Eucliffe to my guys. I'm an officer for one of the many Grenadier regiments that's been told to defend Seelow, which I'm very sure we failed at. Now, how did I get holed up in my house again? Oh right, the Red Army were already using the roads to Berlin, and I'm very sure they have rear guards along the other roads. And since my house is really out-of-the-way and in the middle of the forest, I thought that this place is the safest at the moment. Though the dirt road's there, they could've just sent in T-34s but thank freaking goodness that didn't happen.

I was able to retreat to my house with two of my guys, Rufus and Orga. I don't know what happened to the rest of my men, probably killed. We stayed here for two days, then this night on our second day, this Soviet officer around my age with ruby-red eyes and bangs that covers his right eye comes up to me, surprisingly not wanting to kill me, and when I tried to do so, hugs me instead! I have to admit, getting hugged is better than being shot, and he looks kinda cute...

After I told him about Lector, my baby brother, he tells me that he's keeping him safe somewhere in Seelow! I didn't want to believe at first but.. his ruby-red eyes, or eye.. looks so sincere, caring, comforting, truthful. I'll just go with him. Besides, he looks like a nice guy. And no, I'm not going to Berlin. I'd rather escape when I can. He's gonna be worth it, I just know it!

"Come on, wake up." some voice said to me, then whoever it was started prodding me! Seriously! I got up in a kinda fast speed, startling whoever it was.

"Who told you to wake me up this early?!" I yelled to the person trying to wake me up..

..it was Rogue.

"Hey, calm down. I told you we have to go at first light, remember?" he said, holding his arms up in defense. I looked out the window, orange-ish light going through it. Yep, it's time.

"Oh, Rogue. Yeah, I'm sorry. I kinda forgot." I apologized to Rogue, scratching my head. I got up from my bed afterwards, kicking off the blanket, then yawning and stretching my arms.

"Uh, y-yeah, no p-problem!" he stuttered? I looked at him, and his face was all red for some reason.

"Something up?" I asked Rogue. I then felt a really cool breeze come in from the window, and that's when I realized..

..that I was only clad in my boxers. Riight...

"What? Never seen someone just in their underwear before?" I asked him in the cockiest tone I could muster.

"NO!" he exclaimed, his face all red and looking away at me. So cute..

"Why are you just in your underwear anyway?" he asked me, his face still red and looking away.

"I sleep like this. I find it very comfy." I replied, shooting him a small grin, which made him look away.

"Ya know, you're the very first guy to react to me like that." I said to him, making his face even redder than before.

"W-whatever, I'll be downstairs." he said to me as he headed out through the door.

"GET DRESSED." he sternly chided me, glaring in the process.

Rogue then went out the door, going downstairs as I heard his footsteps on the very damn creaky wood. Wanting to get down quick for breakfast, I hastily got in my pants and boots, simply draping my top over my shoulder, leaving my upper-half exposed. That can wait later anyway, and it's not like the rest of Rogue's guys react like him.. right?

Or maybe because he's... nah.

I then proceeded to go downstairs, the floor creaking under my steps. Creaky scheiße. As I got down, I saw some of his men, eating alongside him on the table; a guy with orange hair and glasses, a tall-looking blonde with a scar on his right eye, a guy with long green hair, and a guy with black long hair.

"Uhh, good morning." I nervously said to the group, waving my right hand. I really hope Rogue told them about me, so they won't try killing me.

"Damn! So that's why you wanted to sleep upstairs, eh kommissar?" the orange-haired guy exclaimed, playfully punching Rogue's left shoulder.

"Shut up." he chided his comrade, then he looked at me. His face immediately went red again.

"And didn't I tell you to dress up?!" he exclaimed, quickly looking away from me.

"Yeah." I flatly reply.

"Your top." he says, still looking away.

"It's really stuffy and I actually don't like wearing it. Later when we go." I reply. IT REALLY IS STUFFY!

"Showoff." he said as he looked at me, then quickly looking away.

"You're so judgemental, jeez." I said to him as I sat down beside the orange-haired guy, wanting to eat breakfast.

"You have some effect on the kommissar, that's new.." the orange-haired guy says to me. I look to him in confusion.

"No kidding! His face is all red!" the black, long-haired guy adds, gesturing to Rogue.

"Shut. Up. All of you. Shut up." he glared at the two with his face still red. The two immediately shutted up, though they were trying hard not to laugh.

Everyone then chuckled at Rogue's current state, who folded his arms on the table then burying his face in them, face even redder.

Maybe there's a lot more to him than it seems...

Probably about time I wrote something like this, after reading a lot of things like these... Anyway, it's my first, and it'll have more or less three chapters. Thanks for reading! Lemme know what you think of it! If someone's acting a bit OOC, apologies.